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Spain Wants to Switch Completely to Renewables

Spain's government has presented ambitious plans for the future: By 2050, the country wants to convert 100 percent of its electricity supply to renewable energy. In addition, a complete decarbonisation of the economy is to follow.

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So far it's only a bill from the country's Social Democratic government, but it includes plans to install at least 3,000 MW of solar and wind capacity annually over the next ten years, as the Guardian reports. By the middle of the century, greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced by 90 % compared to 1990 levels, and a fifth of the state budget is to be earmarked for measures to curb climate change.

Christiana Figueres, a former executive secretary of the UN’s framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC), hailed the draft Spanish law as “an excellent example of the Paris agreement”. She added: “It sets a long-term goal, provides incentives on scaling up emissions technologies and cares about a good transition for the workforce.”

The Spanish government has already worked in recent months to reduce barriers to expansion. The wind energy sector, which suffered a complete standstill for a number of years, has already started up again as a result. In addition, a controversial sun tax was abolished at the beginning of the year to help the solar industry get back on its feet.